Who Is R Praggnanandhaa? Know About The Teenager Who Will Face Magnus Carlsen In Chess World Cup Final

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on Monday stunned world No.3 Fabiano Caruana via the tie-break in the semifinals to set up a final clash with world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway at the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Azerbaijan.

This will be the first final for R Praggnanandhaa in the World Cup. The finals of the World Cup will be held on Tuesday, August 22.

"I didn't expect to play Magnus in this tournament at all because the only way I could play him was in the final, and I didn't expect to be in the final… I will just try to give my best and see how it goes!" the 18-year-old Indian prodigy told International Chess Federation in an interview.

Soon after his victory, wishes poured in for Praggnanandhaa on social media platforms.

"Congratulations to R Praggnanandhaa for an outstanding FIDE Chess World Cup journey to the Finals," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said that his "heart is swollen with pride".

"Bless this talented youngster and may he keep making us stand tall in the world of Chess (Chaturanga!) in the future…," Mahindra wrote.

Ahead of his mega-final against Magnus Carlsen, let's take a look at Praggnanandhaa's journey:

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa was born on August 10, 2005 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. According to a report in NDTV Sports, Praggnanandhaa has completed high school from Velammal Matriculation High Secondary School in Chennai.

His father works as a branch manager at TNSC Bank while his mother, Nagalakshmi, is a homemaker. His sister, R Vaishali is also a chess player.

R Praggnanandhaa started playing chess at the age of 5. According to the information on Chess.com, Praggnanandhaa is the youngest international master in the history of the sport.

He earned the title of Grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 13 days, making him the fifth youngest to achieve the feat.

Praggnanandhaa has won three world youth titles: U8 in 2013, U10 in 2015, and U18 in 2019.

He won a bronze medal with the Indian team at the 2022 FIDE Olympiad, scoring 6.5/9 on the third board for a performance rating of 2767. Later in 2022, he won the Asian Continental Chess Championship.

In July 2023, Praggnanandhaa obtained a live 2700 rating for the first time.

After his semi final victory, Praggnanandhaa became the third youngest player after the legendary Bobby Fischer and Carlsen to qualify for the Candidates tournament.

By becoming only the second Indian after Anand to reach the semifinals of the world cup, Pragg booked a spot in the Candidates event in 2024 to determine the challenger to Ding Liren.

R Praggnanandhaa is a recipient of Arjuna Award for his achievements in chess. It is the second-highest sporting honour in India. It is awarded to outstanding sportspersons who have made significant contributions to their sport.